Changing room chat: Not-so famous fives at Easter Road

HIBERNIAN’S dismal 5-0 thrashing by Celtic on Sunday was their heaviest defeat at Easter Road in nearly 27 years – coincidentally by the same opponents but in very different circumstances.

While runaway league leaders Celtic arrived in Leith at the weekend on a major high, the same could not be said about their visit to the stadium on 7 September 1985. They had crashed out of the League Cup to Hibs on penalties just three days earlier after a 4-4 draw. Perhaps John Blackley’s side had burnt themselves out after their cup heroics, because Davie Hay’s Celtic – this time wearing their hoops instead of the gold and green kit that they had worn in the cup – put Hibs to the sword in what was then the Fine Fare Premier Division with goals from Brian McClair (2), Mo Johnston, Owen Archdeacon and a Mark Fulton own goal.

For the record, Hibs’ worst home defeats prior to that were a 5-0 loss to Aberdeen in March 1985 and another 5-0 defeat to the Dons on the last day of the 1979-80 season as Alex Ferguson clinched his first title. Before that, you have to go back as far as October 1960 to find such a heavy loss, when Celtic won 6-0.